Bowl for vibratory machine



Jan. 21, 1964 P. H. SETZLER 3,118,253

BOWL FOR VIBRATORY MACHINE Filed July 18. 1961 Fla, l 3

INVENToR.

WW @M9 M f MM2@ United States Patent 3,118,253 BGWI. FR VlBRATGRY MACHME Paul H. Setzler, York, Pa., assignor to Bell Intercontinental Corporation, Mishawaka, 1nd., a corporation of Belaware Filed July 18, 1961, Ser. No. 124,846 6 Claims. (Cl. 51-7) This invention relates to a machine for the precision finishing of parts by vibration of a container in which finishing media and said parts are introduced and which relates more particularly to a modification in a component of said machine to improve the reactions taking place during vibratory treatment for cleaning and/ or producing a desired finish on the surfaces of said parts.

In United States Patent No. 2,973,606, issued March 7, 1961, and entitled Machine for Precision Finishing of Parts by Controlled Vibration, and in the co-pending applications Ser. No. 641,399, tiled February 20, 1957, issued as Patent No. 2,997,813, and entitled Method and Apparatus for Precision Finishing of Parts and Objects by Controlled Vibration, and Ser, No. 730,387, filed April 213, 1958, issued as Patent No. 2,997,814, and entitled Machine for Precision Finishing of Parts by Controlled Vibration, description is made of a device having a bowl open at the top and resiliently supported with a cradle for vibratory movement relative thereto responsive to a cylinder supported from the bottom side of the bowl and eccentrically mounted for rotational movement about a horizontally disposed axis aligned lengthwise with the center of the bowl, whereby rotational movement of the eccentrically mounted cylinder imparts a type of vibratory movement to the bowl with the result that the parts and media move more or less in an elliptical path circumferentially about the bowl, in a plane substantially crosswise of the bowl, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3.

While the aforementioned patent and patent applications define a construction wherein the cradle in which the bowl is resiliently supported is capable of rocking movement between an upright position and tilted position within a rigid frame for introducing the media and parts and for operation when in upright position and for dumping the media and parts when in tilted position, it will be understood that the concepts of the invention hereinafter described will be applicable to machines in which the vibratory bowl is resiliently supported within a stationary frame or within a cradle fixed to form a part of the frame.

It is an object of this invention to produce a machine of the type described which is simple in construction and easy in operation and which embodies improvements in the construction of the vibratory bowl wherein its functional characteristics are markedly improved, and it is a related object to produce an improved bowl for use in a Vibratory machine of the type described.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will hereinafter appear and, for the purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. l is a top plan view of a bowl embodying the features of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional elevational view taken substantially along the line 2--2 of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 showing in addition the associated vibrating means.

Referring now to the drawings, illustration is made of a bowl 1li adapted resiliently to be mounted either in a tilting cradle or on a rigid frame. The bowl is illustrated as being formed to rectangular shape having vertically disposed side walls 14 and 16, vertically disposed end walls 18 and 20, and a curvilinear bottom wall portion 22 which is substantially of hemispherical shape. The means by which the bowl is vibrated is illustrated as an elongate ice cylinder 24 eccentrically mounted upon a rotatable shaft Z6 journalled for rotational movement about an axis which extends in lengthwise alignment with about the center of the bowl, between the side walls and beneath the curvilinear bottom walls. The Shaft is suspended from the bottom side of the bowl whereby rotational movement of the shaft, in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, will impart a type of elliptical movement to the bowl or the parts and media housed therein whereby the latter will ow or roll in a substantially circular path crosswise of the bowl, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3.

The bowl is preferably formed of an outer metal bowl 23 and a replaceable lining 36. While it is preferred to form the lining 3Q of a rubber-like material characterized by a high coelcient of friction, there are instances wherein it is desirable to make use of a metallic material for lining the bowl, especially when the vibratory device is adapted to be used with fluid media in washing, dry-cleaning, mixing, wet-grading and the like.

It has been found that the metallic surfaces presented by the lining has insufficient coeihcient of friction to effect the desired roll to the media durmg vibratory movement. As a result, the reaction secured with a metal lined vibratory bowl is not of a character to maximize the efficiency and the effectiveness of the vibratory cleaning or finishing machine.

It has been found that when use is made of a lining formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction, such as of a metal, plastic or the like, the movement of the media and parts to enhance the effectiveness of the machine can be improved by providing a series of abutments in the surface of the lining with the abutments arranged to face in the direction of roll or movement to oppose return movement of media and parts during vibration. For this purpose, the surface of the lining can be formed with a plurality of projections 32 arranged to extend lengthwise of the bowl and spaced one from the other in the direction of the roll or movement of the media and parts during operation of the bowl. Each projection is formed with a surface 34 which slopes outwardly from the inner surface of the lining from the leading edge of the projection to the trailing edge of the projection when measured in the direction of the movement of media and parts. At the trm'ling edge, the projection returns abruptly inwardly to extend substantially perpendicularly to the surface of the lining to provide an abutment surface 36 facing in the direction of the roll.

The sloping surface 3d may be provided in the form of a gradual taper or in the form of a curvilinear surface which extends from about the leading edge to the trailing edge of the projection to impart little opposition to the directional flow of the parts and media. The abutment may be spaced across the vertically disposed side walls and across the curvilinear bottom wall whereby the abutments will face downwardly across one side and upwardly across the other to correspond and the elliptical roll of the material down one side, across the bottom, and up the other side of the bowl during vibratory movement.

It is unnecessary for the end walls to be formed with the abutment surfaces but same concepts can be embodied in the end wall by extending the abutments radially from ta center located at about the center of the end walls whereby the abut-ments 3S in the end walls face in substantially the same direction as the correspondingly aligned abutments in the side walls.

The abutments operate as an obstruction to retrograde movement of the media and parts whereby the media and parts are caused substantially uniformly to travel in the same direction about the bowl during vibratory movement. The described abutments serve a number of other purposes which enhance the ope-ration of the vibratory cleaning and finishing machine.

rihe series of abutments arranged about the surface of the lbowl prevents the parts from clinging to the surface since no continuous surface is available upon which the parts may rest. As a result, all of the surfaces of the parts lremain exposed to the reactions of media and the parts Iremain substantially uniformly distributed throughout the media.

Further, the series of abutments operate to space the parts from the surface of the bowl whereby media can nd its way between the parts and the adjacent surface of the bowl to expose the parts of the action of the media and to oat the parts in the media for uniform suspension therein and for uniform travel with the media about the bowl.

1t will be understood that spacing and the number of abu-tmeuts may be varied and the depth of the abutnients may also be varied Without departing from the spirit of the invention, especially as delined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a vibratory machine for the surface treatment of parts with media, an elongate stationary bowl of substantaifly rectangular shape having a curvilinear bottom wall portion and vertically disposed side and end wall portions, means resiliently supporting the bowl for vibratory movement, means lfor imparting vibratory movement to the bowl whereby the media and parts move substantiallyrin the same direction circumferentially crosswise of the bowl down one side wall portion, across the curvilinear buttom wall portion and up Ithe other side wall portion and back across the top, and ribs extending inwardly from the inner surfaces of the side and bottom wall portions of said bowl and arranged to extend lengthwise of the bowl in laterally spaced apart parallel relation, said ribs having flat faces extending substantially perpendicularly from said walls to provide abutments facing in the direction of movement of the parts and media about said bowl.

2. A vibratory machine las claimed in claim 1 in which said ribs comprise projections extending inwardly from the inner surfaces of the bowl with a gradual increase in offset from the leading edges of the projections to the trailing edges of the projections when measured in the direction of iiow of parts and media during vibratory movement of the bowl and which returns abruptly to the inner surface of the bowl at the trailing edge to provide a stepped surface which opposes return movement of parts and media from the direction of flow of the par-ts and media during vibratory movement of the bowl.

3. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the ribs taper gradually from the leading edge to the trailing edge to offer but slight resistance to the directional cw of the parts and media.

4. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the inner surface of the bowl is formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction.

5. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the bowl is formed of an outer shell of a structurally strong material and an inner replaceable lining of a material having a low coeiiicient of friction.

6. A vibratory machine as claimed in claim 2 in which the end wall is formed with corresponding ribs on the inner surface arranged to extend radially from ia center in an intermediate portion of the end walls.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNiTi-D STATES PATENTS 1,950,534 Hart et al. Jan. 14, 1913 1,099,985 Lamb June 16, 1914 2,143,610 Muller et al Jan. 10', 1939 2,212,560 Foley Aug. 27, 1940 2,813,376V Middle-mark Nov. 19, 1957 2,840,923 Behrens July 1, 2,973,606 Brandt Mar. 7, 1961 2,994,165 Brevik Aug. 1, 1961 

1. IN A VIBRATORY MACHINE FOR THE SURFACE TREATMENT OF PARTS WITH MEDIA, AN ELONGATE STATIONARY BOWL OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR SHAPE HAVING A CURVILINEAR BOTTOM WALL PORTION AND VERTICALLY DISPOSED SIDE AND END WALL PORTIONS, MEANS RESILIENTLY SUPPORTING THE BOWL FOR VIBRATORY MOVEMENT, MEANS FOR IMPARTING VIBRATORY MOVEMENT TO THE BOWL WHEREBY THE MEDIA AND PARTS MOVE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE SAME DIRECTION CIRCUMFERENTIALLY CROSSWISE OF THE BOWL DOWN ONE SIDE WALL PORTION, ACROSS THE CURVILINEAR BUTTOM WALL PORTION AND UP THE OTHER SIDE WALL PORTION AND BACK ACROSS THE TOP, AND RIBS EXTENDING INWARDLY FROM THE INNER SURFACES OF THE SIDE AND BOTTOM WALL PORTIONS OF SAID BOWL AND ARRANGED TO EXTEND LENGTHWISE OF THE BOWL IN LATERALLY SPACED APART PARALLEL RELATION, SAID RIBS HAVING FLAT FACES EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY PERPENDICULARLY FROM SAID WALLS TO PROVIDE ABUTMENTS FACING IN THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF THE PARTS AND MEDIA ABOUT SAID BOWL. 